By Phil Franz-Warkentin and Jade Markus, Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, June 29 (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were up for the third straight session on Wednesday, as oversold price sentiment continued to see traders buying back recently sold positions.
Spreading against Chicago Board of Trade soybeans was a feature of the activity, according to a broker, with speculators buying canola while selling beans.
Statistics Canada released updated acreage estimates this morning, pegging the country’s canola crop at about 20 million acres. That was up by about 700,000 acres from an earlier forecast, but in line with the year ago level and at the low end of trade guesses that had topped 21 million.
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Strength in the Canadian dollar, losses in CBOT soybeans, and relatively favourable North American weather conditions all served to temper the upside potential in canola.
About 20,197 canola contracts were traded on Wednesday, which compares with Tuesday when 26,591 contracts changed hands.
Milling wheat, durum, and barley futures were all untraded.
SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed five to eight cents per bushel lower on Wednesday, as traders positioned ahead of Thursday’s grain stocks and acreage reports.
Many investors expect an increase in seeded area to be reflected in an upcoming United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, which is bearish.
Soybean area had previously been pegged at 82.2 million acres in a March prospective plantings report released by the USDA.
Favourable weather in key US growing regions added to the declines on Wednesday.
SOYOIL prices closed weaker on Wednesday, following losses in Malaysian palm oil.
SOYMEAL closed stronger on Wednesday.
CORN futures were six to 12 cents per bushel weaker on Wednesday, as traders took profits ahead of Thursday’s USDA reports.
Many traders expect a reduction in the number of acres projected in March, which limited losses.
Favourable crop conditions in the US pressured the market.
WHEAT closed eight to 14 cents per bushel weaker on Wednesday, pressured by the expectation for ample stocks to be reflected in Thursday’s report.
Harvest pressure was also a feature.
The US winter wheat harvest has progressed about 25 per cent since last week, reports say, which is bearish.
– Statistics Canada pegs Canada’s 2016/17 wheat area at 23.177 million acres.
– Jordan is tendering for 100,000 metric tonnes of milling wheat, market watchers say.
